Survey finds demand for business degrees

Business majors are in high demand, according to a recent needs assessment done by Flathead Valley Community College.

The FVCC survey of 366 businesses looked at what local employers want from employees. Business degrees led the list, with 68 percent of businesses wanting business majors for their own places of employ.

A total of 78 percent of responders said business degrees were the top need for the county.

Business degrees would factor into nearly 300 new jobs in the Flathead Valley in coming years, according to the college study.

The second most in-demand major is education, which will provide an estimated 45 jobs, followed by computer science and information systems with a projected 35.

The assessment was an attempt to connect with the Montana University System to provide more opportunities for Flathead County students in the form of a university center that would offer on-site instruction for bachelor-level degrees in Kalispell.

The University of Montana and Montana State University had approached FVCC with the goal of offering more courses and degrees in Flathead County, but wanted some hard data backing up the demand from students.

“Having a university center at FVCC has been a common request from area businesses and community members,” FVCC President Jane Karas said. “We are excited about the opportunity to expand our partnerships with the Montana University System to continue to meet our community’s needs.”

The assessment looked at Flathead County as an area underserved by higher education.

Karas said the untapped market is one she’d like her school to access.

“The need to expand is certainly something we are looking at,” Karas said. “There are a number of different opportunities for students already, but we are visiting with our partners and looking at how we can expand them.”

Flathead is the fourth-most-populous Montana county with 91,633 people, but it is the only one of the six largest counties without a four-year college or university.

In Montana counties with four-year institutions, 35.2 percent of people ages 25-64 have college degrees. In Flathead County that figure is 28.1 percent, according to the 2012 U.S. Census.

The need for college degrees is expanding. According to the Georgetown Center for Education and the Workforce, 34 percent of all Montana jobs will require at least a bachelor’s degree by 2018.

While local employers demand business degrees, local students have other priorities, according to a survey of 187 students.

The top field of study for FVCC students is health care, with 29 percent of responding students. The second most popular was education with 28 percent; business was third with 21 percent.

Brad Eldredge, FVCC’s director of Institutional Research, said the interest in health care wasn’t surprising.

“Part of it is the strong health-care programs in the area,” he said. “There is a correct perception among students that health-care jobs are stable and pay well.”

Eldridge was pleased with the reaction from the community to the assessment.

“Most of the major employers of the valley responded,” he said. “It’s fairly representative. The biggest surprise for me was the strength of the responses for computer science.”

FVCC recently hired new computer science faculty, so the data from the survey comes at a welcome time for the college.

“I didn’t really see anything surprising,” Karas said. “We kind of suspected this, but it’s always nice to have the data to support your hypothesis.”

FVCC will move forward with the knowledge gained from the assessment to try and add programs with the help of UM and MSU.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.